Why is the reform of public education unlikely to happen?

The most important issue at the moment is to change the public education system and to upgrade the training teachers required to have. Some people say that it’s realistic to think that genuine reform of public education can take place, but I don’t think it’s going to happen easily. Obviously, the teacher’s unions and education establishment will find every little threat to their monopoly. As we’ve seen, in the way they go out to vulture proposals in every way they can. I like to remain optimism and eventually, we are going to swing things around. But the Democratic Party is almost completely in locked step with the teacher’s unions, and now we have to be overcome. To tell you the truth, I think we are leaning towards a model of education in the future that is outside public education. I think we may be heading towards a home-school coop model, perhaps being to technology and private schools, aided by tuition tax credits and scholarship organizations. They can help poor kids go to these alternative schools. Such developments are outside the public school system and I think in the long term they may be the most hopeful. Already, we have nearly 2 million children been home-schooled. Only 20 years ago, I think there were only a few thousand. In the home-school coops, you’ll have maybe 4 or 5 parents working together and maybe 3 or 4 of them will work to support the parent who stay at home as teachers or they’ll share the teaching and teach what they know. And when they don’t know something like Algebra, they can pull resources entire or bring in specialists or knowledgeable volunteer to teach specific subject.